For the uninitiated, a video game expo is not like your regular PC/Electronics expo where you squeeze with the crowds to buy electronics and appliances.

Video game expos, short-form for expositions, are where game publishers give sneak previews to new video games and video gaming technologies before they are released. Visitors flock to these expos to try games and technologies before they are released, or even those which will eventually never be released.

There are three major video game expos people pay attention to every year - the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in the United States, Tokyo Game Show (TGS) in Japan, and Leipzig Games Convention in Germany.

GameStart Asia is Singapore's very own answer to these mega video game expos.

While unable to rival Tokyo Game Show in terms of size in Asia, GameStart Asia is the biggest English-speaking video game expo on this continent.

Here are the 7 reasons why anyone who ever played a video game should attend GameStart Asia 2015:

1. Over 60 games for visitors to try

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With video-gaming giants such as Sony, Bandai and Blizzard being exhibitors at the event, you can count on the expo to feature some of the hottest games that are soon to launch like Star Wars Battlefront, Streetfighter V, Starcraft 2: Legacy of the Void and Call of Duty: Black Ops 3. So it's your chance to try these games before anybody else.

Here's how the PlayStation booth will look like:

2. They have a Star Wars Battlepod

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This is probably the closest you'll ever get to experiencing what it is like to pilot the many vehicles inside the Star Wars universe. Not only because we are nowhere close to making spaceships affordable for the masses, but because the Star Wars Battlepod arcade machines are only available in the United States and Japan.

With a price tag of US$35,000 for one machine, it may never be brought into Singapore by local video game arcade operators.

So this could be your only chance to climb into a Battlepod. It's one of the rare exhibits that require visitors to pay to play, though we are hoping they would make it free *fingers crossed*.

3. PlayStation VR

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360 degree-tracking head-mounted game displays have been talked about for years and only a select few have gotten a chance to play with them. The PlayStation VR is Sony's own take on head-mounted displays and visitors to GameStart Asia will be the first to try the PlayStation VR headset in Southeast Asia.

One of the best video games genres to appreciate how immersive wearing a 3D headset is would probably be survival horror, check this out:

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4. There's also something for old-time gamers as well

There will also be a booth featuring retro games from the 1980s to the early 2000s. Free to play, what more do you need?

5. It's the best place to feel proud for local game developers

This year's expo has a Singapore Gamebox pavilion for you to try out locally produced games. Go play the games and give the developers your honest feedback, and hopefully we can see more cool video games coming out of Singapore.

You may ask, 'Huh? More cool video games coming out of Singapore? You mean there were cool Singapore made games in the first place?'

Indeed there are. Check out one such game that is soon to launch:

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6. It is probably a good place to spot cosplayers

Cosplayers are a regular feature of game expos. It will be the same for GameStart Asia. Cosplayers who turn up in character are also given 50% off the entry price. Not only that, they will get to rub shoulders with professional cosplayers from the United States and South Korea.

7. They even made a free-to-download mobile game

Here's the best one-sentence game review to get you to download the game: You get to play as Singa the Lion or Chun Li in this platformer.

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Download links found here.

For those interested in attending GameStart Asia 2015, which runs from Nov 13 to 15, head on down to their Facebook page for more details.

Images from Game Start Asia Facebook page and website.

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